Local jobless rates lowest since 2008

Volusia County saw its unemployment rate decline last month to 8.4 percent, down from 8.8 percent in September. Flagler County's rate fell from 12 percent to 11.3 percent in the same period.

SKYLER SWISHERSTAFF WRITER news

Unemployment rates in Volusia and Flagler counties fell in October to their lowest levels in almost four years, a milestone that economic development officials touted as showing the area has come a long way since the worst of the economic downturn. Volusia County saw its unemployment rate decline last month to 8.4 percent, down from 8.8 percent in September. Flagler County's rate fell from 12 percent to 11.3 percent in the same period, and remains the second-highest rate in the state, according to data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. "Our local economy continues to show signs of improvement," said Rob Ehrhardt , Volusia County's economic development manager. "That is reflected in the unemployment statistics." Florida's October unemployment rate was 8.2 percent, down from 8.6 percent in September. Flagler County's unemployment rate trails behind Hendry County's rate of 12.6 percent, the highest in the state, while Volusia ranks 32nd out of Florida's 67 counties. Both counties' unemployment rates are higher than the state average of 8.2 percent and the national average of 7.9 percent. Job seekers are in a much better position than they were two years ago, said Lou Paris, a spokesman for the Daytona Beach-based Center for Business Excellence, the workforce board for Volusia and Flagler counties.Unemployment rates peaked locally in January 2010, reaching 16.2 percent in Flagler County and 12.2 percent in Volusia County. The rates haven't been this low locally and statewide since late 2008.At the same time, more employers are choosing to hire part-time, temporary or freelance workers in the post-recession economy, said Paris, whose organization operates One-Stop Employment Centers in Volusia and Flagler counties. With throngs of people still looking for work, employers don't have as much of an incentive to offer lucrative benefit packages to attract applicants, and workers are willing to take the positions to make ends meet, he said. Despite the decreasing unemployment rate, out-of-work and underemployed job seekers are still feeling economic pain. Cindy Lynn Stewart-Raynor, 46, a certified medical assistant from DeLand, has been looking for full-time work for four years. She works as a private duty nurse, but jobs are limited. She's three months behind on her rent. "It's very difficult," she said while choking back tears. "I am in eviction. I am losing my house." She said she found it hard to believe that jobs are increasing in her neighborhood. She volunteers at a food pantry and sees desperate people flocking there for help in huge numbers. At a statewide level, Florida is adding jobs, but the recovery is tepid and mixed with uncertainty, said Sean Snaith, an economist with the University of Central Florida. "Everything is headed in the right direction at this point, just not very quickly," he said. Republican Gov. Rick Scott was quick to cite his policies as contributing to falling jobless numbers in the state, saying "an economic turnaround for Florida families is well under way." Meanwhile, the Florida Democratic Party issued a statement describing the Sunshine State's economy as continuing "to lag behind the rest of the nation." Locally, economic development officials say they are seeing increased interest from companies looking to expand or move to the area. Flagler County announced earlier this month WP Rawl, a South Carolina company, will build an agricultural processing plant that will grow and package greens. "The downward trend we are seeing in our unemployment rate coupled with increased activity of businesses interested in relocating to the community are good signs for cautious optimism," said Helga van Eckert, executive director of the Flagler County Department of Economic Opportunity. Snaith at UCF said three factors could influence what happens to the jobless rate in the future. First off, businesses will be required to provide medical coverage under the federal health care law. Economists will be watching to see whether employers switch workers to part-time to avoid offering insurance or slash payrolls in response to the higher costs. Secondly, if Democrats and the GOP can't reach a compromise in Washington, automatic spending cuts and tax increases take effect Jan. 1, inflicting a blow on the nation's economy, Snaith said. And, finally, if discouraged workers rejoin the workforce, it will cause rates to increase, simply because they will be counted as unemployed.

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